Word: champ
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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With next week's tennis face-off between U.S. Open Champ Jimmy Connors and Australian John Newcombe...
...ATLANTA--Just a notch below L.A. and Cincinnati, the Braves have an all-round solid club that could challenge for a title in any other division. Pitchers Phil Niekro and Buzz Capra led the league in lowest ERA, while batting champ Ralph Garr and third baseman Darrell Evans supply the offensive force...
...record and ranked eighth on Ring magazine's list. Dubbed "the Bayonne Bleeder" because of the more than 300 stitches he had accumulated in the easy-to-open skin above his eyes, Wepner was an implausible opponent for Muhammad Ali, boxing's great and jaded world heavyweight champ. But Ali wanted an easy fight as a warmup for his next major title bout; and a guarantee of $1.5 million helped him to make up his mind. Wepner signed for $100,000, ten times more than he had ever earned for a single match...
...train full time. He spent eight weeks near the Catskill Mountains under the watchful eyes of his amiably foul-mouthed manager, Al Braverman, and his trainer, Bill Prezant. During the long workouts, Wepner constantly dreamed of dropping Ali to the mat with a battering-ram right to the champ's unblemished chin; Braverman had visions of a Wepner TV commercial endorsing a shaving cream that gave even the world champion Bayonne Bleeder a smooth, nick-free shave. Prophesied Trainer Prezant: "This will be the biggest surprise in boxing." And Wepner's second wife Phyllis, a post office clerk...
Only once during the fight, for eight glorious seconds, did these Elysian hopes near fulfillment. Catching the 33-year-old Ali off balance, the 225-lb. Wepner sent a solid blow to the ribs that dumped the champ on his rump. Until then, a condescending Ali had dominated the contest in The Coliseum near Cleveland. Unusually heavy at 233%, Ali intentionally spent most of the first six rounds on the ropes, guarding his face and upper body from Wepner's pummeling and waiting for his opponent to wear down. Unable to penetrate Ali's defense, Wepner began...